Elsie Lange
Hanging Rock Cricket Club members feel like they’ve been hit for six when it comes to the development of their local cricket ground at the iconic Victorian location, and this week their petition will be tabled in Victorian parliament.
A draft master plan, developed by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) alongside Macedon Ranges council, was released in January, and did not provide space for the cricket, tennis and petanque clubs to continue playing at Hanging Rock.
The draft plan, developed following the approval of the 50-year Hanging Rock Strategic Plan in 2018, was open for community consultation until February 28.
The club’s vice president, Stephen Mitchell, spoke about his concerns to Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell, opposition sport spokesperson Cindy McLeish and Liberal McEwan candidate Richard Welch when they visited the club on March 30.
“There has been club cricket played inside this ground since the 1890s,” Mr Mitchell said.
Among his concerns was that the draft masterplan not only dispossessed the club of a ground, but the surrounding hamlets and communities too, and that there had been no alternative location put forward.
Mr Mitchell said the draft plan did not align or represent the values of the 2018 strategic plan.
He said he looked forward to the club’s petition being tabled by Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell in the Victorian Legislative Council on Wednesday, April 6, which requests the upper house to call on the government to amend the plan to allow local sport in the precinct.
Ms Lovell said she will raise the issue again in parliament next week and continue to put pressure on the government to have more genuine engagement with parties involved.
“I asked DELWP… they’ve never gotten back to us with a detailed response, they’ve never gotten back to us with any response except to say, ‘You don’t feature in the plans and we’re planning on phasing you out in five years,” Mr Mitchell said.
DELWP was contacted for comment.
